What We Always Wanted?
by FyreStorm56
Summary: During battle with a mutant the Avengers are transported to another dimension. One without gamma radiation, without Afghanistan, without the ice...it was everything that they had always wanted, but it isn't. Warning for my own OC (she is described in my other Avengers FF if you are curious) *this is also mild crossover with X-Men ;)
1. Chapter 1

"Alex!" Clint shouted the name into the mike, "You're all clear! Shriek away!"

Clint covered his ears as Alex's high pitched scream made it's way to his ears all the way up 27 floors to his fragile ears. He watched as over twenty of the random creatures that were coming from all sides fell, blood gushing from their ears and mouths. "It's clear," Alex panted, turning back on her com before leaning herself forward, hands braced on her knees panting.

"We need to find this guy before he brings more of those things," Natasha ordered into her own com. Clint could see her moving about the wreckage in the streets, leaping over a car with the Cap and Thor close behind.

"I can't see him from above," Tony announced, whizzing onto the roof next to Clint and offering him a ride to the ground, which he gratefully accepted.

"I've already shrunk back down already guys," Bruce breathed into the com, specifically built to stay on his pants when he hulked out without breaking.

"There is no one on this side either," Alex agreed, standing straight to head over to were the group was now gathering in the middle of third street and Broadway. They watched her carefully make her way over cars, a weak smile made it's way to Bruce's tired face as Tony clapped him on the back. Suddenly she stopped, her eyes widening, "GUYS!" her shouted brought their attention back in full force a moment too late.

The world around them was shifting, suddenly there was nothing but darkness and then they fell to solid ground. Bruce shot up first, which was saying a lot considering that he had Hulked out only moments before, the memory of Alex's terrified face swimming in his brain. "Alex!?" he rasped out as loudly as he could, looking around the now crowded streets of New York.

Tony groaned, sitting up, noticing his lack of suit but lacking the stamina to mention it as he looked around, "How did everyone get back so soon?"

"Stark, when did you change the name on the Tower?" Steve's voice was wary suddenly, him always being one of the first to catch when something isn't quite right.

"I didn't…" Tony looked up quickly, noticing in the background that sure enough it that the tower said Stark once again…and there were three more in the background.

"When did you build the new ones?" Bruce wondered, looking over at Tony.

"He didn't…" Clint said, his voice was full of dread, fear was coated with a healthy layer of shock while he stood, "That one says Banner…and that one says Stone…Richards on the last one."

"What did you just say?" Bruce shouted, leaping up as quickly as he could, staring at what was sure enough said Banner tower.

"Where are we?"

"Doctor Banner? Tony Stark? What the hell are you two…" the voice trailed off, anger seething there, "What the hell did you do to yourself Tony? Banner you look like a hundred years old!"

The group turned quickly, only to notice that they were staring into the face of Remy… Gambit. "Gambit, what are you doing here?" Natasha asked quickly, noticing that Remy wasn't wearing anything even close to normal, but a suit, a very nice one at that.

"Gambit? What the hell did you just call me that for?" he shot back, raising his eyebrows, "And who the hell are you guys?"

"Gambit you don't…"

"My name is Remy, not Gambit, and you guys…"

"Remy, we have to talk to someone," Bruce said quickly, waving away the thought, "Someone smart, we need to see Alex."

"I don't think you are exactly on a first name basis with Alex, Banner," Remy shot back, a look of disdain that made Bruce flinch was shot his way.

"You don't understand," Tony announced, making his way between the men, "We aren't…we don't know what happened. We were fighting with a mutant ten seconds ago with Alex and now we are here."

"What the hell are you on Stark?" Remy questioned, looking the man up and down, "And how did you steal that reactor back from Alex, she bought that from you two years ago."

"What…" Tony slumped back suddenly, a shocked look on his face, "Where's Pepper?"

"Tony, you seriously don't remember do you? You fired her like a year ago, she works for Stone now, you said that she couldn't tell you how to run your damned life," Remy quoted, looking down at him, "You guys seriously don't…"

"We told you, we were fighting a mutant! We got sent here!" the Captain stood up for him quickly, moving forward, "It must've…"

"Done something?" Remy supplied, "Hell yea it must've done something for you to be here."

"What do you mean by that?" Steve asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Dude, you died like thirty years ago, you're Captain America right?"

Steve straightened suddenly, his eyes widening, "I'm seriously…"

"Dead? Yea that sounds right."

"That mutant must've been a jumper," Natasha hissed, "one that can jump through…"

"Dimensions," Tony gasped, a hand going to his throat, "He put us somewhere were nothing happened the way it did in our world."

"Yea, sure they did Stark," Remy half laughed, poking Tony's chest, "I'm going to get back to Al now."

"No!" Bruce shouted, grabbing onto Remy's wrist tightly, "We need to see Alex now!"

"I don't think that…"

"Now," Natasha ordered, her guns coming out to point at the mutant, "and I won't kill you."

Remy half laughed, raising his hands in defeat, "Fine, fine, don't say I didn't warn you Banner."


	2. Chapter 2

Remy lead them to the tower quickly, a scoff on his face that said anything but good things for the group. At the moment though, they were all too freaked out to care about anything but seeing their team mate who could possibly know them. "Remember," Remy said again, leading them to the front door of a tower that they hadn't realized they had entered, "I warned you. Especially you Banner."

Bruce nodded dumbly, watching Remy fetch a key from his own keychain and unlock the door smoothly, pushing it open he moved to the side to let the other enter first. "Hello," a female voice appeared from nowhere, "I have been programed to tell you that neither Tony Stark nor Bruce Banner allowed on the premises Mr. Remy, why are they here?"

"Breath Em, they are saying they aren't the ones we think they are," he waved his hand in dismissal, "Call Alex down here, Pepper too actually."

The others looked around quickly at the home. It screamed their teammate, wood paneling, soothing colors of beige and white with splashes of red before leading to a spiral stair case that blocked view of anything else. Then there was the clacking of heels that made it's way to their ears.

"Remy, you had Em call?" Alex's voice was a soothing balm, cool and collected.

"Yep, A, and you would never guess who called for your help," Remy laughed loudly, watching as an oh so familiar Alex but with a much shorter pixie cut rounded the corner, Pepper at her side.

Bruce almost smiled, so did the others, until they so the murder suddenly written on her face when her eyes landed on Bruce. "Wha…" she growled, moving forward quickly, the clacking of her heels echoing before the air was split with the sound of a fist hitting the jaw of Bruce Banner.

Bruce felt the pain, but didn't hear a peep from the Hulk as he landed harshly on the ground. He couldn't believe he just got a right hook from his girlfriend, another dimension or no. Meekly, he looked up at her angry face through his lashes, when she raised her fist again making him flinch. Shock suddenly crossed her face, "What the hell is wrong with you Banner?" she hissed, looking him over, before lowering her voice.

"He's not _the_ Banner apparently," Remy shrugged, looking down at the man as if he was finally convinced, "They say they're from a different dimension."

"They have to be right," Pepper whispered, looking Tony over before gasping when looking at the arc reactor in his chest.

"Right, the Bruce we know would have beat the shit out of you," Remy said venomously, looking down at the man in disdain that he didn't deserve.

"What did you just say?" Bruce asked, suddenly standing, dizzy and about to throw up as he looked over at Alex, "I would've hit you?"

Flinching at the thought, Alex nodded, "You would've done a lot more then hit me Banner."

"The lady Stone and yourself are not…" Thor questioned half way before being cut off by a wave of Tony's hand.

"Banner and myself are not what, Blondie?" Alex questioned with a raised eyebrow, moving her eyes over his form, "Holy shit you're tall."

"Thank you, Lady Stone!" Thor declared loudly, raising a fist at the praise bringing a giggle from Pepper's lips.

"So if you are all from another dimension why are you here?" Alex sighed, her mind whirling with the idea that there actually was another dimension and the fact that people could actually survive the travel.

"A mutant brought us," Steve answered, making all eyes widen and focus on his form, "What?"

"You're Captain America, you're dead," Alex answered quickly, moving around Bruce, who had yet to stand up, to look the Captain up and down.

"That's what I told him," Remy sighed, shrugging slightly, "but there he is."

"Maybe Banner got the super solider crap right," Alex took a hold of Captain's arm, twirling it in her grasp with little resistance from the man himself, "and he just picked a look alike?"

"You know better then that Ms. Stone," the AI, or what the group was assuming was an AI, spoke again, "With the serum physical looks depend on what is inside the person. By looking at them, no matter how close they looked to Steve Rodgers originally wouldn't make him look the same on the inside as well."

Alex sighed, nodding slightly, "SO this is real, you guys are from another dimension."

"We told you," Tony snapped, growling under his breath, "You just didn't believe us."

"He still has the snark of Stark, doesn't he Pepper?" Alex questioned, still looking at the arm of the Captain that was meant to be dead.

"Yes, yes he does," Pepper agreed coolly, looking at Tony again critically, though her eyes continued to stray purposefully away from the arc reactor.

"Pep, why are you acting like you've never met me before? I mean it's not like you haven't seen the reactor before," Tony asked cautiously, his hand going up subconsciously to the glowing light in his chest.

"I have seen it," she agreed, nodding, "In much, much, larger form helping power several cities…never in someone's chest."

"What?"

"You're forgetting, you're not in your dimension Tony," Bruce sighed, standing on his feet shakily, "Apparently a lot of things didn't happen here."

"So I was never in that cave…there is no shrapnel here, no Iron Man…" Tony shook his head, never realizing how much all of these things had created his personality.

"Iron Man?" Pepper raised an eyebrow, "Sounds like something that could get you killed."

"You sound just like my…I mean our Pepper," Tony laughed, "Iron Man is me, in my world I save people."

"You? _You_ save people Stark?" Alex laughed, finally allowing herself to drop Steve's arm and smile gratefully up at him, "You aren't the hero type here."

"What type am I here then?" Tony snapped, narrowing his eyes.

"More like the drunk, playboy, weapons dealer type," Pepper supplied.

"Weapons? I stopped selling weapons after…" Tony stopped, his mouth falling open as understanding hit him, "I stopped selling weapons after the Cave, after I saw what they could do…"

"And that never happened," Natasha continued, "so you never changed. What else didn't happen?"

"What do you mean?" Pepper questioned, watching closely as Alex turned to Thor, beginning to examine his hammer that hung loosely from his hand.

"Thor, was he ever here?" Clint broke in.

"This guy?" Alex shook her head, "Nope, nothing, he hasn't been on Earth and I would know."

"What about Captain, why is he dead?"

"What do you mean?" Pepper tilted her head, "There are only so many years even super heroes can live."

"So he didn't crash into the ice," Tony supplied.

"Nope, no ice," Alex agreed, jerking her hand back as she was shocked by Thor's hammer, "Nice weapon, I like it."

"Thank you," Thor said absentmindedly, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was never banished, that he was still in Asgaurd and never met Jane or his allies.

"What about the Hulk?" Bruce questioned suddenly, "Did the Hulk happen?"

"Hulk?" Alex turned and raised her eyebrow, "What in the world?"

"He's big and green and can lift over eighteen tons…I turned myself into him working with gamma radiation," Bruce whispered, clinching his fist.

"Well, in this world you are a huge enough dick without doing that, so no," Remy answered, following with a clipped laugh.

Bruce felt light headed suddenly. There was no Hulk, nothing bad had ever happened, after college at least. He was…he was… "Without learning self-control, I turned into my father," Bruce choked out the words, feeling his world fall around him. "I always thought that the Hulk was the monster."

"Apparently the Hulk aged you," Alex agreed, "Making you a lot more mature, controlled. You never knew what to do with you anger so you hit things."

"People," Bruce disagreed, ''not things." He knew what Alex, Remy and even Pepper had supplied with bits of information that they had given him on himself, he was abusive and angry here.

"Turns out we got everything we wanted," Tony shook his head, looking up mournfully at Pepper, "and it's awful."


	3. Chapter 3

"How are we going to get back?" Tony questioned, suddenly pacing, hand under his chin, "I mean we have three geniuses here."

"Do you even know the math that we would need to even begin to create a worm hole controlled enough to get all of you into your dimension?" Alex asked, still wrapping her head around the fact that these people weren't the assholes she knew and hated.

"Yes, it would be hard but not impossible though," Tony nodded, "Considering you have had a lot more time to study and you seem to at least be acting mildly the same you have probably looked into this."

"I've looked into time travel never travel to other dimensions," Alex disagreed, "Reed was doing some of that before he started working on the more based topics instead of theories."

"So why don't we call him? I mean him and Sue would be great help," Clint asked.

"You mean Sue Von Doom?" Remy asked, barking out a laugh, "No one has seen her or Victor since they got married and left their company to Reed."

"Wait…what?" Tony blinked slowly, "You mean…"

"Sue married Von Doom and disappeared leaving the completely anal Reed Richards in charge?" Alex questioned, "That is exactly what we are saying."

"So…we only have…"

"The three of us here and possibly Reed and then if we got lucky maybe the dicks themselves," Alex nodded.

"We don't even know the mathematics to do that!" Tony shouted, throwing his arms up in despair. "I need to get back…I need…" he looked despairingly at Pepper, longing for the one in his own world.

"Tony," Pepper broke in calmly, much like she usually would have in any other situation, "you know there is a much simpler way to fix all of this."

Bruce scuffed his feet on the ground, feeling more aches in his heart as he watched Alex jump into observing Thor's arms and battle scars. He wasn't the Hulk here, so that would explain the silence, but the idea that he had turned into his father…a monster that would have hit a woman as amazing as Alex or Betty. His stomach inched it's way up his throat again, his heart racing, though he still didn't even hear the Hulk stir…he was going to be sick for the first time in the past year.

"Are you okay?" Alex's voice was next to him, making him jump though the watering of his mouth still hadn't stopped. "Oh dear…" she whispered, dragging him quickly behind her as she ran up the stairs, "Come on, come on…" she whispered the words in a comforting manner, slowing until she was next to him, rubbing soothing circles in the small of his back as she continued to navigate him through a set of new hall ways.

His heart ached at the gentleness she was showing him, so much like his Alex, when he knew in this world he didn't deserve it. Alex pulled away, pushing open a new door and leading him into a bathroom, quickly she slammed down the lid of the toilet, where she shoved him into sitting. "Here," she whispered soothingly, handing him a trash can, "you were talking about gamma radiation so I assume your vomit would need to be burned as well?"

Bruce nodded numbly, his throat constricting as his stomach tried to make the food he had eaten recently evacuate in the quickest way possible. He gagged, Alex grabbing the glasses of his face just in time for him to not lose them with the vomit that he was retching into the trashcan. He heard her footsteps move from in front of him, making him ache at the idea of being alone, but he should have expected that this Alex wouldn't want to stay near a man that had caused her so much…his thoughts stumbled as a wet cloth pressed itself to the side of his face, down his neck causing him to shiver, but so grateful for the coolness against his feverish skin.

"Shhh," she whispered comfortingly, continuing to move the rag against his skin, "it's okay, it's okay, get it out."

He retched again, the disgusting sound of liquid sloshing in the bottom of the metal can reaching his ears, his head pounding. He didn't understand anything right now, his life was wrong, everything was wrong and…in this world he was alone. He had never met his new friends, there was no Tony Stark poking him in the lab or Alex laughing at him while he tried to teach her how to meditate, no Avengers movie nights that always ended up being them all sleeping on the couch until Steve came in with the popcorn and covered them with blankets. He would have never…never been the person he was today and no one would have ever been helped, all those people he saved where…He puked again.

It was several long minutes of uninterrupted puking, not one person knocked on the door and Alex never muttered more than simple encouragements while continuing to wipe his flushed skin. Finally it stopped when Bruce had nothing left in his stomach but bile that refused to move or that would have been in the trash can as well. He looked up tiredly, balancing his head on the edge of the trash can. "Can you…" he couldn't even get the question out past his chapped lips, but other Alex nodded, smiling slightly.

"I'll get rid of it for you, my incinerator is very good at taking care of chemicals," she answered, wetting her wash cloth again before wiping his forehead and mouth gently. "Are you alright now?"

"I've been better," he whispered the answer, his mind filling with the people that were sure to be dead now, Betty…Alex, tears were gathering in the corner of his eyes.

"Done with the vomiting?" she questioned, a motherly smile on her face.

He nodded, giving her a grateful smile as she gently moved his body backwards to lean on the back of the toilet and taking the trash can away, sitting it near her on the floor. "You don't have to do this," he muttered, watching her face carefully, "I'm not a good person."

"Not a good person here," she corrected gently, placing a hand on his forehead, "You're not feverish, so it was probably just shock. Which is reasonable," she nodded to herself before dropping the rag into the sink.

"How do you know I'm not a completely awful person in my world? I could be you know, I have the monster inside me to prove it," he probed, from everything he had heard and the reaction from their first meeting…

"I punched you in the face, you just sat on the ground and you have yet to try to get me back for that," she answered simply, a nonchalant shrug as if she had people from other worlds drop into her home all the time. "I think you are a perfectly pleasant person."

"But you don't…"

"You have friends, friends that looked incredibly worried when you were about to get sick, and you haven't tried to punch me back after I hit you, as I already said," Alex explained again, looking more agitated, "Stop trying to deny you are a nice person and trying to take lumps for the other you."

"I'm not trying to…"

"Yes you are," Alex interrupted, "you are a martyr and you should stop that nonsense."

"He's the constant martyr," Tony announced from the door, looking down at him with disapproval that was probably more for this world then Bruce himself, "You okay, Big Guy?"

Bruce nodded numbly, looking at him sadly; understanding that once again he and Tony were the only ones that understood each other right now. "We are going to find the mutant," Tony announced firmly, trying to sooth Bruce and himself, "We are going to get back."

"How are we going to get him to stay? Or how are we going to make him take us back?" Bruce asked, frustrated, thoughts of being stuck here for the rest of their days.

"I can do that," Alex announced, standing a little straighter as she leaned against the counter, "I can make him take you back."

"You are still a mutant!" Steve called out happily, smiling, "You can make him…"

"Take you back and then turn himself into the nearest jail," Alex half smiled, "I have friends that can help find him too, if Charles stops partying long enough that is."

"Charles…as in Charles Xavier?" Steve was gaping like a fish, "Partying?"

"Yes, Charles Xavier," Alex shook her head, sighing, "It's a shame he parties so much he would be one of the greatest mutants of all time…"

"And you two would be married but ca la vie," Remy added, waving his hand dismissively.

"What?" Bruce yelped, his head shooting up to stare at Alex, "You were…"

"Dating Charles for a couple of years? Yea," she shrugged as if she hadn't dated the only other genius mutant in the world.

"Years?" Tony asked, noticing that Bruce's eyes were shining with jealousy.

"They were serious, they were working on a way for mutants to all be…"

"Ceribro," Bruce supplied quickly, blocking out any of the anger that was trying to push it's way forward, while at the same time cutting everything short.

"Yes…I guess it's in your world too?" Alex raised her eyebrows.

"Yes, Charles built it with the Hank McCoy," Tony supplied, "If this is here we can use it to find him, no matter how good of a jumper he is."

"Do you think that this will really work?" Bruce questioned.

"He is right my friends, nothing could ever be so easy," Thor agreed, a sigh in his voice.

"Charles?" Alex's casual voice cut into the conversation, drawing the attention to her, a phone casually placed in between her shoulder and her ear, a smile on her face as he answered.

"I know it has been a while, but I was wondering if I could ask you a favor?" her brow crumpled for a second, before it cleared up again, "I'll bring you a bottle of that Kentucky Whiskey you like so much."

She smiled again, winking as she caught Pepper's eyes, "I need you to use Ceribro to help me find a mutant. He's been causing a lot of trouble and I have about six? No, five people in my bathroom as proof and you are never going to believe who they are.

"Yes, yes, of course you can meet me in about thirty minutes. The whiskey will be waiting but you aren't allowed to drink it here," she frowned suddenly, her eyes flickering with emotion, "You know why you can't drink that here. Just get over here."

She snapped the phone shut, sighing and rubbing her temples, "He's going to be here in about thirty, just be ready for…a party," she groaned, placing her head on her knees.

"You seem excited," Steve quipped, though his voice was gentle, "Can we help?"

"No, just…just go chill in the living room," she waved her hand, "Pepper can you get them set up down there and grab that stuff out of the cellar?"

"Cellar? I didn't even know people had those anymore," Tony laughed, smiling slightly, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Remy," she lifted her head suddenly, her eyes soft with something that no one wanted to recognize, "can you help me get ready?"

Remy shook his head, laughing as he heaved the girl to her feet without waiting for her to lift up her arms. "Let's go boss lady," he bumped her with his hip.

"This may have been a bad idea," Pepper sighed as the pair disappeared around the corner, shaking her head slightly, "Let's get you guys down stairs, are any of you hungry?"

"How about Shawarma?" Tony asked, placing a gentle hand on Bruce's shoulder, leading the other man to his side and out of the bathroom.


End file.
